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Authors: Amos Tutuola
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along. Then without hesitation, I began to beat them with my heavy matchet. But to my fear, as I began to beat them, their shouts were then even greater and those who were digging me along joined those who came from the crevices of rock. All were beating me even more bitterly than before as they were pushing me here and there in the rocks. As this time was too critical for me, I tried to transform myself into another form so that I might run away for my life. But my juju which could do so did not work this time, because I had not enough time to recite the incantation which could make it effective. Even I would not be happy to run away for them, but to satisfy my adventure.
When my juju failed, then I continued to use my matchet with all my power. Again, my matchet could not reduce their power at all. However, I continued to beat them repeatedly as they were then pushing me along zigzag in the scattered crevices of rock which were entirely covered with dead creeping plants. Having pushed me to a distance of about one-third of a kilometre, we came to a part of the rough path on which we were travelling. This part was very clean but was very curved. As soon as they pushed me to this curved part of the path, the strange thick shadow appeared again on the middle of the path. It had hardly appeared when I saw an old man, he sat on an armed chair and leaned his back on it. This armed chair was very huge and old. Then these children ran to him in the crevices of rock, they took him together with the old armed chair and then they put him on the middle of the strange shadow.
But I was very lucky that as soon as these savage children saw this old man, THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN, theystopped beating me. Now the whole of them began to flatter him with their topmost voices as they were following the shadow along to the east of the top of this mountain as quickly as they could. When they stopped beating me and stopped dragging me, I too stopped beating them with my matchet. Now, I had sufficient time to look at this Old Man of the Mountain and his huge armed chair. He did not talk a single word to the savage children of the mountain, and he did not look at them at all, but he simply fastened his eyes on the path far away as though he was dead.
He did not even shake any part of his body and none of his eyebrows moved. The smoking pipe which was in his mouth did not produce smoke, although a big fire was in it. The type of this tobacco pipe was long to a distance of two metres. It was very thick and the tobacco holder on top of it was as big as a big bowl. He held the pipe with his left hand very stiffly as if the hand was already nailed there permanently. His beard was very fearful indeed. It was about one metre long and very bushy. It was spread on his breast and both shoulders instead of spreading forward. His moustache was long as well and spread to both sides of his upper lip. He had no hair on his head at all. So his beard, moustache and head showed that he was very old indeed. Furthermore, to my eyes, as one of the people of the town, it seemed that he was more than five hundred years old, because only bones were visible on every part of his body. I did not know whether he was the father of these savage children of the mountain, though they gave him much respect which was due to a good father.
But I was greatly surprised and afraid that, as these children of the mountain were giving such a great merriment and admiration to him, he did not show even a slight hint of happiness or make any motion of body to all that they were doing for him along the path. Yet they continued to perform this ceremony with all their power, so much so that they were sweating as if they were soaked in water.
After a while, I joined these children. I began to dance, sing,shout greatly with great joy, and dash here and there as they were doing. Then I began to feel hunger and I loosened my food-bag. I took one big roasted meat out. But to my surprise, it
When my juju failed, then I continued to use my matchet with all my power. Again, my matchet could not reduce their power at all. However, I continued to beat them repeatedly as they were then pushing me along zigzag in the scattered crevices of rock which were entirely covered with dead creeping plants. Having pushed me to a distance of about one-third of a kilometre, we came to a part of the rough path on which we were travelling. This part was very clean but was very curved. As soon as they pushed me to this curved part of the path, the strange thick shadow appeared again on the middle of the path. It had hardly appeared when I saw an old man, he sat on an armed chair and leaned his back on it. This armed chair was very huge and old. Then these children ran to him in the crevices of rock, they took him together with the old armed chair and then they put him on the middle of the strange shadow.
But I was very lucky that as soon as these savage children saw this old man, THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN, theystopped beating me. Now the whole of them began to flatter him with their topmost voices as they were following the shadow along to the east of the top of this mountain as quickly as they could. When they stopped beating me and stopped dragging me, I too stopped beating them with my matchet. Now, I had sufficient time to look at this Old Man of the Mountain and his huge armed chair. He did not talk a single word to the savage children of the mountain, and he did not look at them at all, but he simply fastened his eyes on the path far away as though he was dead.
He did not even shake any part of his body and none of his eyebrows moved. The smoking pipe which was in his mouth did not produce smoke, although a big fire was in it. The type of this tobacco pipe was long to a distance of two metres. It was very thick and the tobacco holder on top of it was as big as a big bowl. He held the pipe with his left hand very stiffly as if the hand was already nailed there permanently. His beard was very fearful indeed. It was about one metre long and very bushy. It was spread on his breast and both shoulders instead of spreading forward. His moustache was long as well and spread to both sides of his upper lip. He had no hair on his head at all. So his beard, moustache and head showed that he was very old indeed. Furthermore, to my eyes, as one of the people of the town, it seemed that he was more than five hundred years old, because only bones were visible on every part of his body. I did not know whether he was the father of these savage children of the mountain, though they gave him much respect which was due to a good father.
But I was greatly surprised and afraid that, as these children of the mountain were giving such a great merriment and admiration to him, he did not show even a slight hint of happiness or make any motion of body to all that they were doing for him along the path. Yet they continued to perform this ceremony with all their power, so much so that they were sweating as if they were soaked in water.
After a while, I joined these children. I began to dance, sing,shout greatly with great joy, and dash here and there as they were doing. Then I began to feel hunger and I loosened my food-bag. I took one big roasted meat out. But to my surprise, it
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